US OPEN: Wall Street pushes higher to extend last week's gains

US indices opened higher on Monday, extending last week's sharp gains after a surprising NFP report which strengthened investors opinion that the U.S. economy has weathered the worst of the economic fallout from the coronavirus. Airlines, retailers and cruise lines are among the best performers. The benchmark S&P 500 (SPX) and the Dow (DJI) are now 5.7% and 8.3% away from their respective closing highs, after surging more than 45% from their pandemic lows hit on March 23, as majority of the companies resumed operations following weeks of pandemic related shutdowns. Meanwhile, protests over police brutality and the death of George Floyd continued all over the country for the 13th straight day. All eyes this week will be turned  to the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, ending on Wednesday, during which recent  report from the labor market is expected to be discussed.

 

Boeing (BA.US) – Seaport Global Securities increased company’s rating to "buy" with a $277 price target, saying the worst of pandemic-related risk is now priced in and that the company's free cash flow could peak at a higher rate than is now generally expected.

Boeing (BA.US) launched todays session with a bullish price gap. Shall upbeat moods prevail local resistance at $252.53 per share may come into play. Source: xStation5

AstraZeneca (AZN.US)  contacted Gilead Sciences (GILD.US) last month about a merger between the two drugmakers, according to a Bloomberg report. However according to other sources AstraZeneca is no longer interested in pursuing such a deal.

 

Thor Industries (THO.US) earned 43 cents per share in the third quarter, while analysts’ expected a loss. Revenue also came in above forecasts. The recreational vehicle maker announced that was able to adjust its cost structure to deal with the negative impact of the pandemic. Also sales began to improve in May as dealerships reopened.

Facebook (FB.US) - CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company will review existing policies on content related to civil unrest and violence, following criticism over its stance of not moderating or taking down some posts related to those subjects.

 

Apple (AAPL.US) - shortly Apple Card users will be able to pay for iPads, Macs, and AirPods in monthly, interest-free installments, according to Bloomberg. 

 

Goldman Sachs (GS.US) – Malaysia’s new finance minister told Reuters that $3 billion would not be enough to settle the case involving Goldman Sachs and sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. The country’s former prime minister announced in December that Goldman had offered more than $1 billion, to accusations that Goldman had misled investors over $6.5 billion in bond sales.

 

Amazon.com (AMZN.US) – RBC Capital raised its price target for Amazon.com to $3,300 per share, the highest on Wall Street. RBC, which rates Amazon “outperform,” believes that the company is a “structural winner” resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and that Amazon is the best global play in that category.